Tomb Raiser Zombie (Plants vs. Zombies Heroes)

Tomb Raiser Zombie

Set

Premium

Rarity

Super-Rare

Class

Tribe

History Zombie

Traits

Gravestone

Abilities

When this hurts the Plant Hero, make a random Gravestone in a random lane.

He's good at making friends.

Tomb Raiser Zombie is a premiumsuper-rarezombiecard in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, and a member of the Sneaky class. He costs 4 to play, and has 2/4. He has the Gravestone trait, and his ability makes a random zombie with the Gravestone trait, including another Tomb Raiser Zombie, that is hiding in a gravestone on a random lane every time he does damage to the plant hero, unless all other non-aquatic lanes are occupied

Contents

Origins

His description alludes to the fact that his ability is able to make more zombies, thus literally making more "friends."

Statistics

Class: Sneaky

Tribe: History Zombie

Trait: Gravestone

Ability: When this hurts the Plant Hero, make a random Gravestone in a random lane.

Set - Rarity: Premium - Super-Rare

Card description

He's good at making friends.

Update history

Update 1.24.6

▲ Health change: 3 → 4

Strategies

With

Tomb Raiser Zombie's ability is great for bringing more zombie fighters into the battle for virtually free, and on top of that, they will be hiding in gravestones, which protect the lane until the next Zombie Tricks phase unless Grave Mistake, Grave Buster, or Blockbuster is played. Since he makes an extra zombie when he hits the plant hero, he synergizes well with Unlife of the Party (as Impfinity), as each gravestone revealed counts as playing another zombie.

However, Tomb Raiser Zombie's ability only activates when he hurts the plant hero, so it is recommended to keep Tomb Raiser Zombie alive as long as possible and also his lane clear, either by avoiding direct combat or by having Tomb Raiser Zombie get over anything in his way.

If you are using the former method, moving him to an empty lane with tricks like Smoke Bomb is a good way, as your opponent cannot do anything during the Zombie Tricks phrase. Bonus attack cards like Carried Away (as Super Brainz) or Lurch for Lunch are another option, as they allow Tomb Raiser Zombie to either destroy a plant in his way or make more gravestones. However, Tomb Raiser Zombie must have sufficient strength boosts to destroy plants, which the Brainy class is not good at giving. And finally, you can remove the plants blocking his way by either destroying or Bouncing them with tricks.

If you want to use the latter way, make sure you have some brains left over for stat-boosting tricks, because with the stats of 2/4 on turn 4, it can be hard for Tomb Raiser Zombie to even survive the turn he is played without stat boosts. Strength boosts will allow him to destroy tougher plants, while health boosts will allow him to take more hits. Giving him the Frenzy trait by playing Possessed or Maniacal Laugh can let him attack the plant hero if he manages to destroy all the plants in the lane with his attack as long as he still survives. Headstone Carver gives Tomb Raiser Zombie a small head start for a cheap price, as well as any future zombies made by Tomb Raiser Zombie, so he isn't that bad of an option either. Tomb Raiser Zombie can also be paired with certain environments to give him a greater chance of activating his ability. Notable environments include Laser Base Alpha, Moon Base Z (as Impfinity), and Ice Moon (as Huge-Gigantacus), which give him traits that can easily hit the plant hero. Stat-boosting environments like Meteor Z, Cone Zone, and Area 22 are also good choices, but keep in mind that environments can be replaced.

However, do be reminded that this zombie's ability is luck-based. While it adds an element of surprise and gives you access to powerful zombies like Surprise Gargantuar or even a legendary like Binary Stars, you could just as easily get zombies with situational abilities like Mad Chemist.

Against

Despite having low stats even for his cost, Tomb Raiser Zombie can become devastating if you give him a chance. When you see him, block his lane quickly, as he can only make gravestones when he does damage to you. You should destroy him as fast as possible. When Tomb Raiser Zombie makes a gravestone, you should prepare for any zombie with the Gravestone trait, since Tomb Raiser Zombie can make Gravestone zombies that are not from the Sneaky class. Grave Buster is a good counter against this zombie, as it will instantly destroy the gravestones. You can also use Spyris to know which random zombie is summoned by Tomb Raiser Zombie. This way you can prepare to face threats from the gravestones. To stop Tomb Raiser Zombie if he has already emerged from his gravestone, Whack-a-Zombie, Lawnmower, Berry Blast, and other tricks will all work due to his low stats.

Since he needs to hit you to activate his ability, you can use Soul Patch to negate his ability.

Gallery

Tomb Raiser Zombie's statistics

Tomb Raiser Zombie's statistics after being made by another Tomb Raiser Zombie

Trivia

Unlike his Plants vs. Zombies 2 counterpart, he makes zombies that have the gravestone trait, rather than summoning tombstones that block plant attacks.

For unknown reasons, sometimes he does not create a Gravestone zombie, despite having directly attacked the plant hero.

In addition, sometimes he makes a Gravestone and softlocks the game, but the chance of that is extremely low.

He appears on Rustbolt's premium pack, even though the player can't get him from that pack since he is in the Sneaky class and Rustbolt can't play him normally without getting him from Escape through Time.

There was a glitch where Mixed-Up Gravedigger could be made by his ability, even though he does not have the Gravestone trait.

This might be because Mixed-Up Gravedigger makes every zombie on the field hide in a Gravestone when he is played, including himself, and mixes them around, thus technically giving him the Gravestone trait.

The game softlocked upon making him, as Tomb Raiser Zombie's turn never ended. This would result in the current match unable to end normally. This happened because Mixed-Up Gravedigger made every zombie on the field hide in a Gravestone, but because Tomb Raiser Zombie did not hide inside a Gravestone prior to that, the turn never ended.